All pit bulls in the country ought to be taken by the police and given to dog units to be used for patrolling disused mines and other operations, and not be allowed in communities or homes.
"It's a breed that has turned against its owners and attacked people walking down the street. This dog has a killer instinct and is an animal that is unpredictable. It has killed mostly the vulnerable," according to the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation.
Sizwe Kupelo is at the front line of a battle over the lineage of pit bulls in South Africa alongside several other organisations, that have launched petitions for the castration and sterilisation of the "vicious" dog breed.
In just under two weeks, a petition by the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation calling for the ban of pit bulls as domestic pets in South Africa has gained 37 700 signatures.
The Umtata-based organisation said the petition was triggered by the attack on a 10-year-old from Gelvandale, Gqeberha, and other pitbull attacks, particularly on young children recently
Sizwe Kupelo, founder of the organisation, felt it was time for the government to intervene.
He stressed that the organisation was not calling for the killing of the breed.
Citing the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza, Minister of Police Bheki Cele, Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla as well as the Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele, the foundation urged decision-makers to consider castrating all male pit bulls, and sterilising female ones.
"We want them banned with immediate effect, and the government has to take time to ensure the dog is removed from society, because it has killed a number of people and it continues to kill. We are prompted by the Constitution which guarantees everyone the right to life.
"We cannot continue counting bodies because of a breed that is not supposed to be a domestic animal and this is why we want it declassified and for police to take steps," Kupelo said
He said although they understood the frustration of pitbull owners, the organisation was fighting in the interest of human life, especially children.
Kupelo added that South Africa would not be the only country taking this route.
To date countries such as Finland, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Singapore, Netherlands, Poland, France, Germany and Puerto Rico, to name a few, have banned and put restrictions on the ownership of the breed or its importation.
The reasons for the partial bans in these countries varied from how the dog behave, and why people owned them, as the dogs were reportedly known to be an aggressive breed, Kupelo said.
A counter-petition against the foundation's bid calling for the ban of pitbull was also started by dog-lover Theo Kruger and has gained its fair share of support, standing at over 2 900 signatures.
"We as pitbull owners and lovers of this great breed are tired of these so-called experts who have no idea about pitbull breeds and then want to ban them like the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation," reads the petition.
Police Ministry spokesperson Lirandzu Themba confirmed that the they had received the organisation's letter. However, they could not comment further on the matter at this stage.
Similar sentiments were expressed by the Health Department's Foster Mohale, who indicated that the letter was being processed accordingly with regard to the health aspects raised.
Mohale said that other government entities and departments would be responsible for issues relating to the petition.
Pretoria News